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Bowmore
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Bowmore
distillery was founded in 1779 and sits on
the shore of Loch Indaal, Islay. It was Islay's first (legal)
distillery and is one of the oldest in Scotland.
In
the mid-1920's it was purchased by Sherriff's Bowmore
Distillery Ltd and then, when offered for sale in 1950,
purchased by William Grigor & Sons.
It
was sold again in 1963, this time to Stanley Morrison Ltd
and then in 1994 Suntory purchased or took over Bowmore's parent
company to become the new owners.
Distillery photo by Mick Garatt, via Wikimedia
Creative Commons License |
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Bowmore
is one of the very few distilleries to still utilise their own
floor maltings at the distillery and they even hand turn the
balrey with the traditional wooden malt shovel.
The No.1
Vaults, their largest warehouse, is actually below sea level,
giving a true meaning to the concept of "Teroir".
General whisky characteristics: Heather, light smoke and
just a touch of The Atlantic |
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Bowmore,
1966,
40y
Let's start with
the really serious one, voted my No. 3 favourite whisky of all
time.
Typical cost of
this bottle;
to |
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Colour: Light golden
honey
Nose: Wow, here is my
first surprise; It has some hints of iodine and even horse
stables ( ), but in a very pleasant way! There's a dryness on
the nose too, along with something almost akin to butterscotch.
I keep wanting to say honey too, but not any normal honey. This
is quite similar to a rather special honey which I recently had
the pleasure of sampling and cooking with, thanks to a famous TV
chef who took over my kitchen for one evening, a while ago. If
ever you get the chance to try "Tasmanian Leatherwood honey"
please do so. This Bowmore really reminds me of it!
Palate: Here goes
....... I have been looking forward to this for a few days now
....... Errrrmmmmm .... initially not at all what I expected!
Are you ready for this? The initial flavour was one of Sunday
lunch, to be exact ... Roast Pork! Yes, really. But it only
lasted a micro-second before the flavours opened up into a very
flowery and slightly nutty delight.
The aftertaste is one of
slight nuttiness and is long, very long. It is more 'warming'
than 'tingly' on the tongue and is not as thick or rich as I may
have expected. But don't take any of this as a negative. This is
a very good whisky, but if I were given this blind, I would
struggle to place it as being from Islay.
Overall Impression: A
stunning Bowmore. I love the combination of roast pork with
delicate flowers, turning into nuts and maybe even a little
marzipan. This has been a real pleasure. The chance to savour a
whisky which I would probably never have done if left to my own
devices. Thanks Jόrgen! |
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Bowmore,
12y,
43% ABV
Discontinued
presentation
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Nose: Sweet with honey
and fruit.
Palate: Light bitter
chocolate and not quite ripe pears.
Edit: A second and later
nosing / tasting of this 12y showed the nose to be less sweet
than my first impression. I also noted the palate to be creamy
with vanilla, lime and honey.
Overall Impression: A reasonable everyday dram
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Bowmore,
12y,
'Enigma', 40% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Rich dark gold,
amber
Nose:
Aged wood, just a touch of leather and lots of the great
Scottish outdoors. Not too much sea-air, but fresh countryside,
heather and bracken.
Palate: Smooth with
hints of raisins and wood, maybe a little honey and almond.
Finish: Medium to long and rich honey with hints of almond
and wood.
Overall Impression: Totally different and slightly heavier
than the standard 12y, but I like it!
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Bowmore,
Mariner,
15y, 43% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Amber
Nose:
Well-aged wood, furniture polish, light creosote with just a
hint ofd smoky banana
Palate: Very smooth and
creamy mouth-feel, this grows slowly on the palate to encomapss
rich honey, sherry, wood (oak), hints of marzipan and eventually
rich fruit.
Finish: Slow to start, but then really quite long
Overall Impression: This
one definitely grows on the palate with time. Rich, smooth,
fruity honey. Nice! |
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Bowmore,
'Surf', 40% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Dark gold, rich
oak, not quite amber
Nose:
Fresh moss, newly sawn wood, light rubber and light fruit (pear,
apple)
Palate: Smooth and
creamy, lightly herbal and almost fruity
Finish:
Medium to long
Overall Impression: A light and fresh Bowmore, but really
quite unusual with those fruity herbal notes. Not sure about
this one.
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Bowmore,
Cask Strength, NAS,
56% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Amber
Nose:
Light smoke, peat and quite fresh Atlantic sea-air.
Palate: Very smooth,
smoky peat and a hint of honey.
With 4 drops of water: Smoother with a little more peat on
the aftertaste.
With another 4 drops of water: A more aromatic nose gives
way to smooth gentle peat on the palate.
Finish: Long
Overall Impression:
Thoroughly enjoyable, with or without water. |
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Bowmore,
Dawn
51.5% ABV
Now obsolete
bottling
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Nose: New leather shoes
on a beach. Slightly salty with hints of new leather. Further
nosing began to introduce some fruit elements.
Palate: A lovely tingle
to the front of the tongue followed by raisins, currants, leaves
and a little smoke.
Finish: Smooth and smoky
with dark fruits and wet leaves.
Overall Impression: No FWP effect here in my bottle.
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Bowmore,
Dusk,
claret cask, 50% ABV
Now obsolete
bottling
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Tasting
#1:
Nose:
Smoke
and sea air with hints of toffee and banana after a few minutes.
Palate: Can it be that I
find chocolate, liquorice and even a slight cocktail of peach
and vanilla?
With 3 drops of water: Celery suddenly appears on the palate.
Overall Impression: I
quite like this one and it shows no trace of the infamous FWP
effect.
Tasting
#2 (at a later date):
Nose:
Red wine,
honey and a little peat.
Palate: Initially smooth
and creamy with a hint of rich red wine opening onto the palate
with a tingling, lingering flowery peatiness.
A second taste offers more raisins and a little oak.
Overall Impression:
Still no FWP effect, but the flavours have proven to be quite
varied and do seem to have changed over time in the open bottle. |
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Bowmore,
Darkest,
sherry cask, 43% ABV
Now obsolete
bottling
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Nose:
Banana and leather with some smoke.
Palate: Smooth and spicy
at the same time, with some hints of liquorice and toffee. The
toffee builds quite quickly on the palate then fades equally
quickly, promising much but delivering little. Although the
liquorice finish is quite long.
Overall Impression and author's
note: Since this tasting Bowmore have re-aligned their
product range with Dawn & Dusk no longer being available. This
particular Darkest had no age statement, but is the one to
remain in the range, albeit now as a 15y version. I find this a
great shame as for me, the Darkest was rather one-dimensional
and possibly my least favorite of the three, so I hope the 15y
is better! |
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Bowmore 10y 40%
Now obsolete (collectible)
bottling
also known as clear label or screen print
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour: Light or pale
honey
Nose:
Soft and gentle reminder of outdoors or
countryside, but not in a grassy way. Fresh countryside.
Palate: Initially watery
mouth-feel but soon expands on palate to include suggestions of
honey and a mild peatiness. Perhaps even a hint of liquorice
leading into the long finish.
Finish:
Long
Overall Impression:
Soothing, gentle, all quite inoffensively nice but not stunning.
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Bowmore 15y 40%
Ceramic Jug
"Glasgow 1988 Garden Festival"
Typical cost of
this bottle; Unknown |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour:
Bright (yellow) gold
Nose:
Lots of fruitiness (apple, pear, berries)
with a background hint of over-ripe or almost sour apple giving
way to a mild smokiness.
Palate: The slightly
sour fruitiness of the nose extends onto the palate but on the
whole there's lots of nice depth to the general fruitiness and
mild smokiness. (More wood smoke than peat).
Finish:
Medium length with lots of fruitiness.
Overall Impression: Very
nice old fashoined style Bowmore. Bordering on Greatness
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A.D. Rattray,
Bowmore 17y, distilled
19.8.1991, bottled 3.11.2008, 56.2% ABV
First fill Sherry Butt,
cask 2060
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Colour:
Wonderful rich oak
Nose: Currants, raisins,
old oak and a little smoke.
Palate: Those raisins
and currants are present, but the smoke also makes an appearance
along with wonderful Scottish heather.
Overall Impression: This
really is an extremely good Bowmore, possibly one of my
favourites. My only criticism is that the finish is a little
short. |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour:
Pale, almost transluscent copper
Nose: An initial burst
of peat is soon followed by a sweet fruitiness in the background.
This opens further with a suggestion of slightly smoky red wine.
Palate: This is really
quite unusual in that it starts creamy and smooth but soon gains
a pepperiness which is concentrated solely on the extreme front
of the palate. The fruitiness then emerges with apricots
marinated in cognac, a hint of banana and red or rosι wine with
red fruits then leading the way into the finish.
Finish: Very long and fruity.
Overall Impression: Very
unusual, that Petrus cask has a very distinct effect and I can't
really decide whether this particular finish works for me as
maybe it is just a little too effective. Either way, this is
best described as smoky peat marinated in good red wine.
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Vom Faί, Bowmore,
11y, 40% ABV
"Vom Faί" as the
name suggests, sells directly from small casks in the shop(s)
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour:
Yellow gold
Nose: Sweet but gentle
smoky peat
Palate: Smoky peat with
a touch of honey.
Finish: Long with gentle peat and just a faint suggestion of
redcurrant.
Overall Impression: This
is a much smokier and peatier Bowmore than others of similar
ages that I have tried. They usually have more heather and honey
with a suggestion of peat, this is the reverse of the 'norm' and
thoroughly enjoyable. Well done to Vom Faί with this
acquisition! |
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Glass: Classic Malt
Colour:
Sunny amber
Nose: Gentle peat and
smoked summer fruits with a hint of dentist's chair, or rather
surgery, appearing after some minutes. This soon fades and
leaves smoky oak and new Italian leather.
Palate: Smoky peaty
mango is my initial thought, although the alcohol burn of 61%
soon declares a need for water.
With
4 drops of water: Lots more smoky oak is released into the
nose, whereas the palate seems smoother and fruitier before the
peat returns.
With
4 more drops of water: Nice and gentle fruity peat dominates
the nose. The palate is smoother again, or at least it appears
to be until the liquorice tingle assaults the front of the
palate. This is not bad, it's just quiet unexpected as the
previous addition of water made this much smoother.
With
a further 4 drops of water: The nose is now filled with
light peat, smoke and aged wood (oak). The palate is again
smoother and slightly less peppery as that smoke, peat, wood and
fruit all vie for dominance.
Finally with a 'splurge' of water: Dark fruits (raisins,
currants & plums) along with wood, leather and smoky peat all
harmonise into
a choir on the nose whilst the palate is silky,
smooth, fruity and smoky. It's also now quite a bit sweeter.
After some minutes the distinct aroma of (smoked) Black Forest
ham delights the nose!
Finish: Long with gentle peat and fruit.
Overall Impression: This
is not quite a typical Bowmore, but it is typically Adelphi in
that it's strong, needs water and a little patience, but given
these it does indeed reward accordingly.
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Coopers Choice,
Bowmore,
19y,
1990 - 2009,
46% ABV
Cask Ref. 1131
Typical cost of
this bottle;
Dram-atics live review |
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Glass:
Munich Whisky Festival 2011
Colour:
Golden amber.
Nose:
Now
here's a rich dram; lots of aged oak and rugged leather (think
hiking boots!) on the nose which opens after some minutes to
include slightly smoky sweet honey.
Palate:
All of the elements from the nose
translate perfectly onto the palate which also develops a little
black pepper.
Finish:
Long
with aged oak, faint smoke and black pepper.
Overall Impression:
What is
it about these 19y sherry-cask Bowmores that makes them so good,
I really like this whisky!
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Whisky Agency
"Liquid Sun", Bowmore,
11y,
2000 - 2011,
46% ABV
Matured in
a bourbon barrel, one of 145 bottles
Typical cost of
this bottle;
Reviewed as part of
MMA 2011 |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Pale
yellow
Nose:
Starting with fresh pine soaked in vanilla sauce, in fact
there's a lot of vanilla here. Also hints of fruits with mainly
apple and apricot. This is a very clean and fresh nose overall.
Palate:
The palate is much more solid than the light and fresh nose as
it immediately offers malt and white peppercorn with hints of
liquorice root.
Finish:
Long and quite rich.
Overall Impression:
A surprisingly good, albeit sligthly unusual Bowmore.
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C&S Dram, Bowmore,
10y,
6.9.1999 - 16.8.2010,
61.4% ABV
Matured in
bourbon barrel
No.361, bottle No.184
Typical cost of
this bottle; |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Pale
yellow
gold
Nose:
Unbelievably this starts with the flavour of the most common
crisps in Germany . Ungarisch! Then hay, straw and grasses
develop and turn this into a very outdoor style of whisky before
we head right back to crisps, this time with (UK) Walkers smoky
bacon flavour. There's also a hint of woodiness.
Palate:
That
61% abv really shows here and the overriding quality is that of
alcohol burn and pepper, this really needs some water although
there is some suggestion of honey, heather and a certain
slightly smoky sweetness.
With 4 drops of
water: Lots more smokiness on the nose now, but also a
farminess with that hay and straw relocated to a barn. The
palate has much less pepperiness and now focuses on honey,
heather and smoke.
With a further 4
drops of water: The nose is one of gentle smoke and honey
and the palate loses all traces of pepperiness to also focus on
the smoky honey. It's still an outdoor style with lots of
countryside, but no traces of Atlantic saltiness.
Finish:
Long, even longer with water and also
concentrated on the back of the palate.
Overall Impression:
Much
better with water!
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Bright
gold
Nose:
This
starts with
light honey and a fresh coastal breeze, then expands to include
a light leafiness alongside a faint smokiness. This is followed
further by quite floral malt and a typical summer herb garden.
Palate:
Very
smooth and creamy mouth-feel, but quite a bit richer than the
nose as lots of that gently smoked honey and herb garden really
shine through on the palate. There's also plenty of rolling
Scottish countryside with heather and bracken.
Finish:
Long.
Overall Impression:
Fresh,
lots of countryside and light smokiness. An excellent whisky.
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TWE "Masterpiece", Bowmore,
18y,
61.6% ABV
Distilled 1.5.1993,
one of 195 bottles
Typical cost of
this bottle;
to
Reviewed as part of
MMA 2011 |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Pale
gold
Nose:
Very
aromatic, lightly floral and fruity with pear and red berries
alongside Atlantic sea-air and faint peat smoke. Always fresh
and very civilised.
Palate:
Quite
peaty on the palate, more so than the nose. It's warming and
solid, quite unusual for a Bowmore, but most enjoyable.
Finish:
Long and rich with a suggestion of peaty
toffee.
Overall Impression:
Yes a
quite a-typical Bowmore but very good, excellent.
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D.Laing "Old Malt
Cask", Bowmore,
10y,
Sept.
2000 - April 2011, 58.4% ABV
Sherry
Butt, DL Cask No.7071,
one of 516 bottles for La Maison du Whisky
Typical cost of
this bottle; (just at 78)
Reviewed as part of
MMA 2011 |
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Rich
cherry wood, pale amber.
Nose:
Wax
furniture polish with hints of basil & rosemary. The woodiness
then expands to become much richer and is joined after 5-6
minutes by a suggestion of nutty honey, but always remaining
gentle and very pleasant.
Palate:
More
peat here on the palate than the nose, also a freshness
reminiscent of Atlantic sea-air alongside rich creamy honey.
Finish:
Long with herbal honey and a light peatiness.
Overall Impression:
A rich
palate gives this lots of character. A very good whisky.
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Malts
of Scotland,
Bowmore,
15.4.2000-3.2010,
58.7% ABV
Bourbon
Barrel,
Cask
No.800266, one of 192 bottles
Typical cost of
this bottle;
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Very pale yellow
Nose:
Fruity
bonfire embers with a light smokiness expanding further over
time. There's also a faint rubberiness which is quite pleasant
alongside a very coastal "Atlantic" character and plenty of
fruitiness.
Palate:
Fruity,
always very fruity but with the addition of grassiness and a
light smokiness.
With 4 drops of
water: Even more fruitiness on the nose and also on the
palate, but the palate also gains a hint of malt and some
further smokiness.
Finish: Long, even
longer and fruitier with the water.
Overall Impression:
Very
nice Bowmore with lots of fruity character.
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Malts
of Scotland,
Bowmore,
1995-2010, 56.4% ABV
"Amazing
Casks", Cask
No.177, one of 222 bottles
Typical cost of
this bottle;
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Shiny gold
Nose:
Lots
of heather, in fact a veritable Scottish moor covered in it,
with some light smoke and a suggestion of pineapple and mandarin.
After 4-5 minutes the heather intensifies further and is joined
by bracken and vanilla.
Palate:
Creamy
and smooth mouth-feel whilst being rich in flavours with heather,
oak and that pineapple and mandarin in the background.
With 4 drops of
water:
The
nose is now musty and more smoky whilst the palate is slightly
oily and bitter with a suggestion of banana.
Finish: Very long, even
longer with the water.
Overall Impression:
Very
nice, I love that fruitiness.
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Duncan
Taylor,
Bowmore,
27y,
1982-2009, 50.6%
ABV
"The
Octave", Cask
No.378770
Typical cost of
this bottle; Unknown
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour: Glowing oak
Nose:
Slightly musty and smoky aged wood which expands with time to
include hints of cherry and eventually offers a very fruity
maltiness.
Palate:
Herbal,
floral and really quite 'grassy'. There's also lots of dry oak
which helps to suggest a quite 'Atlantic' character.
With 4 drops of
water: The nose is now
even more fruity and musty whereas the palate has lots of creamy
vanilla with a floral background.
Finish: Long and more
floral with water.
Overall Impression:
Very
nice
and quite amazing how the drops of water really change the
character.
Author's Note:
I was given this sample, or perhaps more accurately a
half-sample by Serge Valentin who reviewed this whisky back in
March 2010, exactly two years before my review here.
He was
decidedly unimpressed, finding parma violets, parma violets and
more parma violets along with lilac, lily from the valley and
lavendar scent bags. Did he also find aspirin and American
coffee? I believe he did. Anyway, he called it a "Scary Monster"
and awarded it 59 points for the whisky +1 point for the nice
label. I just wonder how much the two years has changed this
sample? My own review finds a general floral character but with
lots of typical Islay sea-air and smokiness. In fact I decidedly
liked this one so maybe I need to provoke another discussion
about how whisky changes (or not?) with time in an opened bottle.
Slΰinte Serge!
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Whisky
Faessle,
Bowmore,
1997-2012,
15y, 53.7% ABV
Bourbon hogshead,
Duck edition
Typical cost of
this bottle;
Reviewed (blind) as
part of MMA 2012
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Rich golden yellow
Nose:
An
initial earthiness and farminess predominate, then a light
peatiness and somethign fruity, banana? Somehow I'm thinking
light peat wrapped in banana leaves. This constantly tries to be
more peaty but it's really more earthy accompanied by that
fruitiness. Eventually it offers some maritime freshness.
Palate:
Quite
sweet here and certainly a little more peatiness than the nose
offered. Nice, that sweetness is very honey-like.
Finish: Long and gentle
with more light earthiness.
Overall Impression:
Lightly peaty and earthy with some quite aromatic (Tasmanian)
honey. Very good indeed.
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Speciality Drinks,
"Elements of Islay" BW1,
52.9% ABV
Typical cost of
this bottle;
Reviewed (blind) as
part of MMA 2012
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
21ct yellow gold
Nose:
Fresh
with a very light rubberiness. Then a smoky woodiness
reminiscent of an open log fire. Almost fruity, but extremely
lightly so.
Palate:
Ahh
yes, now there's some fruitiness ... papaya? mango? definitely
exotic. Tingly too with a light rubberiness and hints of coconut.
Finish: Long with more
hints of coconut.
Overall Impression:
Lightly
rubbery and peaty with plenty of exotic fruitiness and hints of
coconut too. I love this as it delivers much.
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L'Esprit,
Bowmore,
8y,
15.10.2002 - 23.8.2011, 46% ABV
Hogshead, Cask
No.20148 bottle 356 of 372
Typical cost of
this bottle;
Reviewed (blind) as
part of MMA 2012
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Extremely pale yellow
Nose:
Initially fishy, yes quite fishy then some mustiness and
leafiness. With more time in the glass a ligth fruitiness and
smokiness evolve.
Palate:
Definitely no fishiness on the palate but it is quite leafy and
lightly smoky. There's also a fruitiness akin to apple or pear.
Finish: Long.
Overall Impression:
Am I
back in Yorkshire on a riverbank catching chub and barbel?
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Wilson
& Morgan,
Bowmore,
15y, 1996-2011,
57.3%
ABV
"Barrel Selection"
Sherry Butt 960005,
Typical cost of
this bottle;
Reviewed (blind) as
part of MMA 2012
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Glass:
Classic Malt
Colour:
Brilliant dark teak
Nose:
Very
earthy with plenty of aged oak. After some minutes some light
rubberiness and peatiness develop followed by very aromatic
flora.
Palate:
Wow,
extremely rich and intense with what I can only describe as
currants, raisins, figs and prunes all wrapped in chocolate
sauce. Hints of coffee too? Not quite, but amazingly some
suggestion of green tea right at the end.
Finish: Will it ever
end? Hopefully not.
Overall Impression:
What
can I say? Fantastic, rich ..... A truly wonderful whisky.
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